Bonzie Colson had the best night of his career, leading the Irish in exacting revenge for an earlier loss against the Seminoles.
Mike Brey figured junior forward Bonzie Colson was close to putting together a dominating performance.
“I actually turned to Coach Balanis today and said, ‘You think he can get 40 tonight?’ I just felt that good about it,” said the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s basketball coach.
Brey’s prognostication was not far off. Colson dropped 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds en route to the Irish’s 82-74 win over the No. 14 Florida State Seminoles.
“(Colson) is getting it in areas where they can’t guard him,” added Brey. “He’s sticking the three. He’s making free throws. That was one of the great performances in our program’s history against a big time team on national TV.”
Colson’s performance - which included 20 second-half points - was bolstered by teammates Matt Farrell and Steve Vasturia, who each had 15 points for the game. Colson, Vasturia and V.J. Beachem have all reached the 1,000 point career plateau this season.
The Irish, who have now won two in a row after losing four straight, improved to 19-7 (8-5 in ACC) and added an important piece to their NCAA tournament resume. They also stay within a half-game of a top-4 finish in the ACC, which would give them a double bye in the tournament. The Seminoles, who won the prior meeting between these two teams, fell to 21-5 (9-4 in ACC).
The Irish next play at 7 p.m. Tuesday against the Boston College Eagles. The game, which will be broadcast on ESPNU, is at the Conte Forum.
